


A Study in Red and Yellow

by sky_reid



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Character Study, Kissing, M/M, Short, a kissing character study if there ever was one, anyway third fic for the international kissing day, because fuck logic, bruce's pov, but actually more about tony, but it's 5 o'clock somewhere and all that, embracing the ao3 tagging system, well compared to my other works anyway, which is technically over in my country
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-06
Updated: 2012-07-06
Packaged: 2017-11-09 08:09:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/453253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_reid/pseuds/sky_reid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony kisses like Tony lives, Bruce has observed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Study in Red and Yellow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eruannalle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eruannalle/gifts).



> Hi, again, Mims xD I did promise you my first Tony/Bruce fic, so here it is. Not exactly what you were looking for but I'll write that as well when I have time xD
> 
> The title is from sherlock holmes, lol. Rated M for mature themes.
> 
> I'm celebrating international kissing day by writing kissing fics and this is one of them :) This also happens to be my first Avengers fic, so hiya there, new fandom :D

 

_A Study in Red and Yellow_

 

Tony's kisses are much like the man himself, Bruce discovers. They're inconsistent and ever-changing, specific to occasion and Tony's mood, confident and explosive, powerful and impressive. But they're all just that little bit fake, that little bit of an act; Bruce knows, because Bruce kisses Tony a lot, and to kiss Tony is to know Tony.

 

The first time they kissed, Bruce didn't notice. They were working on something in Tony's lab and Tony was poking him with whatever he could get his hands on, teasing him and ruffling his hair; then suddenly Tony was pushing him against a wall and kissing him, quick, expert licks of his tongue and nips of his sharp teeth all designed to make Bruce go mad. It was unexpected and sudden, but Tony was, as always, good at winging it, a quick study if there ever was one, a born researcher who easily found Bruce's favourite spots. It was a bit overwhelming and Bruce had to try and stop it after too short a time, because things like this didn't happen to him, people didn't just randomly kiss him like that. But Tony was as Tony always was, nothing if not boldly, irritatingly persistent, his mouth and tongue claiming Bruce's like he had every right to it, like he could take whatever he wanted, play any game and never lose.

 

But Bruce has learnt since then; after all, he's a scientist, learning is what he does.

 

He first started to notice the little, tiny, really, honestly minute pauses Tony made between pressing their lips together and licking his way in, between a quick bite here and a sweet lick there, when they first had sex. Tony was talking, joking, he was cocky and nonchalant, he teased Bruce with his hands within an inch of coming, then sucked him like a pro, but every time he tried something new, he would look at Bruce's face, just a fleeting sweep of his eyelashes upwards, gauging his reaction. With anyone else, Bruce would have thought it to be just normal care for the other person's preferences, but Bruce knew Tony well enough by then, he knew that Tony cared differently; Tony bought ostentatious gifts and made robots for the people he loved, but he did the same for the people he hated, no, what set apart the ones Tony really cherished was how he was comfortable with them, how he would let Pepper tease him relentlessly, how he would not apologize for forgetting Rhodey's birthday, how he would paint Bruce's room green, how he knew he could do anything and they'd still be there.

 

So no, it wasn't worry that Bruce wasn't enjoying himself that had Tony analyzing his reactions at record speed, it was something else. But Tony is smart, he's a genius, and he didn't fail to notice that Bruce was watching him, so he upped the stakes and Bruce is not even embarrassed to say that Tony managed to wipe everything from his mind with nimble fingers that twisted just _so_ , and bruising kisses on his neck that marked him, and quick, hard thrusts that made the bed shake. It was Tony kissing him slowly, languidly as Bruce came, harder than he had in years, that finally made it click – Tony wasn't worried, he was insecure, he was afraid of screwing up, of pushing Bruce away. He knew what worked, but he didn't know if _he_ could make it work, he knew how to get what he wanted, but not how to keep it. And then suddenly things made more sense, things like Tony kissing him whenever Bruce opened his mouth to ask _are you sure_ , and Tony's hand moving just the tiniest bit away before continuing its journey closer, and Tony deflecting any conversations about their relationship, and Tony never wanting to get seriously attached.

 

But it was actually the kiss _after_ that sealed the deal for Bruce, that proved him right. Because, when Tony collapsed on top of him that night, he found Bruce's mouth and kissed it, and it was wet and sloppy and slow, and it wasn't needy at all, it wasn't demanding and it wasn't about using all the right tricks; it was just Tony kissing Bruce, tenderly, sweetly, deeply, his tongue slow and exploratory, like it was the first time they kissed, like Tony had no idea what he was doing. And that was the experiment that proved the theory to Bruce.

 

After that, it becomes easy to notice that most of the time, Tony has no clue what he is doing, he just pretends he does. He pretends he thinks he's irresistible, pretends he is self-assured beyond the need to question himself. He is still brilliant, quick to pick up on what works and what doesn't, a damn tease and always the first to try out something knew, experiment, but now Bruce knows he is only doing it to prove that he can be bigger, better, faster, that he is doing it because he has no idea how not to, because Tony's whole life is about finding subtle, hidden ways to plunge himself into something that he might not get out of, and sometimes Tony doesn't _want_ to get out of it.

 

Tony's kisses? They're fake. They're too quick and too relaxed. They're showy and pushy and annoyingly perfect. They're too precise and never wrong, too teasing to be honest, too bold to be anything but reckless. And Bruce likes them. He likes them the way he likes Tony – he likes to search them and find all their different layers and meanings, likes to be able to taste Tony's flaws and dissect them and then feed them back to him in a kiss of his own; he enjoys the widening of Tony's eyes when he takes charge, when he makes Tony forget to pretend and act, and all that's left is just Tony, stripped bare, insecure and self-destructive and brilliantly, stupidly caring.

 

And Bruce loves _that_ , loves when Tony has nothing to hide behind, when Tony doesn't want to hide, not from him, because it's a privilege to see Tony for who he really is and Bruce will cherish it as such. So he will lick Tony and touch him, he will hold him down and play him like an instrument for hours; then he will fuck him, hard, until Tony is cursing and crying and screaming and then Bruce will know, that _this_ is Tony. That's when he'll kiss Tony and it will be a hot mess, because that's what Tony is, and it will be perfect.

 

Tony's kisses are a mess, all over the place, off-handed and not at all thought through, they're reckless and dangerous and badly timed, sometimes they're a joke, sometimes they're a risk, but they're always unpredictable and new. And, like Tony, underneath all the charm and unconcerned ease, they're heavy and dark and troubled and addictive, they're unsure of what they want to be or how to convey it.

 

But Bruce knows that's just how Tony is, that, should there ever be need for it, Tony would more than happily die for him, and he doesn't need Tony to say it. Because the way Tony kisses his temple when he's falling asleep, the way Tony's lips are always close to his skin when they're lying next to each other, the lazy early mornings when Tony is too far gone to care so he just relaxes and gives all control over, invites Bruce in and lets him taste every mistake and regret and fear, they're more than enough. Bruce doesn't need Tony to say the words, Tony's kisses tell him everything he needs to know.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
